1
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:01,840
Speaker 1: You want variety to what you listen to while you're

2
00:00:01,919 --> 00:00:03,919
driving to work, or hanging out at the office, or

3
00:00:03,919 --> 00:00:06,839
even just being at home all by yourself. Erro dot

4
00:00:06,879 --> 00:00:10,439
net A r r oe dot net. It's not always

5
00:00:10,519 --> 00:00:13,599
about talking with rockstars and movie stars. There is so

6
00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,879
much more. Arrow dot net A r r oe dot net.

7
00:00:18,399 --> 00:00:22,719
Missed opportunity. I love sharing conversations, now hosting them requires

8
00:00:22,879 --> 00:00:27,199
a lot of show prep. My podcasting platforms feature thousands

9
00:00:27,199 --> 00:00:29,800
of guests. What you don't have access to are my

10
00:00:30,079 --> 00:00:34,759
missed opportunities. The show prep was one hundred percent completed.

11
00:00:34,920 --> 00:00:38,600
The conversation, Eh, it didn't happen. I keep all of

12
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:40,280
my notes, and the reason why is because I believe

13
00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:44,119
the paths will cross again. Let me explain missed opportunity.

14
00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,000
It's my questions and statements without their answers. I'm leaving

15
00:00:49,039 --> 00:00:51,679
open enough space at the end of every question, hoping

16
00:00:51,719 --> 00:00:56,359
they'll download the talk and insert their answers. It has happened.

17
00:00:56,920 --> 00:00:59,920
Missed opportunity is a lost piece of history. It's like

18
00:01:00,159 --> 00:01:02,719
Messa Jennabottle that's been tossed out to see it's time

19
00:01:02,759 --> 00:01:06,680
to locate its destination. This week, we're putting focus on

20
00:01:06,719 --> 00:01:12,239
My Missed Opportunity with podcast host Rockel Willis Rockheil willis

21
00:01:12,280 --> 00:01:16,439
an award winning activists, author, and strategists dedicated to black

22
00:01:16,439 --> 00:01:23,480
transgender liberation. She's experienced in online publications, organizing marginalized communities

23
00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:28,480
for social change, nonprofit media strategies, and digital activism. In

24
00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:32,239
late twenty twenty three, Rockel brought her podcast to the

25
00:01:32,239 --> 00:01:36,000
world on After Lives The Life and Legacy of Leyleen

26
00:01:36,159 --> 00:01:41,640
Extravaganza Kubalet's Polanco. Leyleen was known for her smile and

27
00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:45,239
oh she could always light up a room. The podcast

28
00:01:45,359 --> 00:01:49,640
series unpacks the systems that failed Leyleen it led to

29
00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,239
her death at New York's Wrikers Now. The invitation to

30
00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,560
share a conversation with Roquel Willis arrived on November thirtieth,

31
00:01:56,599 --> 00:01:59,680
twenty twenty three. They instantly said, Yeah, let's do this.

32
00:02:00,079 --> 00:02:03,079
Let's set December twelfth, twenty twenty three, at nine am

33
00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:04,840
to be that moment we get together. We're going to

34
00:02:04,879 --> 00:02:07,680
give you twenty minutes by four pm on the twelve,

35
00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:09,759
I was informed that the conversation was moved to an

36
00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:13,319
unspecified day in twenty twenty four. Well, that day would

37
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:16,759
be March twenty first, twenty twenty four, and again it

38
00:02:16,759 --> 00:02:19,719
would be a double this time though, at ten ten am,

39
00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,400
I wrote back perfect, followed by a request for a

40
00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:27,719
zoom hook up at ten twelve am, two minutes after

41
00:02:27,759 --> 00:02:30,479
the talk was supposed to begin, That's when I received

42
00:02:30,479 --> 00:02:33,439
the email Arrow, I'm so sorry we had to cancel

43
00:02:33,719 --> 00:02:38,879
the tour. My bad. Coming up next the Questions the

44
00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,159
Statements for rockhel Willis, Hey, thanks for coming back to

45
00:02:44,199 --> 00:02:48,000
missed Opportunity this week. My focus is on rockhel Willis,

46
00:02:48,159 --> 00:02:52,639
the host of the podcast After Lives, the Leyleen Palonko story,

47
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,719
trans people and their beautiful way of transforming others? Why

48
00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,840
is it always under attack? Have failed, Laylean? How can

49
00:03:01,879 --> 00:03:06,280
we change this from happening again in the future? Anti

50
00:03:06,479 --> 00:03:09,800
transviolence has got to be on the front page of

51
00:03:09,879 --> 00:03:15,159
every newspaper. I mean, these murders are happening everywhere. You've

52
00:03:15,199 --> 00:03:19,120
been called a thought leader on gender when you aren't

53
00:03:19,159 --> 00:03:22,199
out there helping people through social media. What do you

54
00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:27,560
do in your everyday world locating that voice? So many

55
00:03:27,560 --> 00:03:30,960
people never find it you have. It is about protection

56
00:03:31,120 --> 00:03:33,479
and it requires a lot of coverage, and you've got

57
00:03:33,479 --> 00:03:38,680
that down. Your loyalty to Out magazine. We don't know

58
00:03:38,800 --> 00:03:41,479
the real story, but you're going to make the connection.

59
00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:47,000
Why was Layleen sentenced to Rikers in twenty nineteen at

60
00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:52,680
the age of twenty seven? Digital activism? This is a

61
00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:58,520
very very powerful tool and you're using it the right way. Now,

62
00:03:58,560 --> 00:04:01,759
what are you personally learning? Is it a constant change

63
00:04:01,800 --> 00:04:06,439
for you? You actually go into Leyleen's real story all

64
00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:08,800
the way back to when she was denied her first job.

65
00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:12,520
You were invited to speak out hours after Layleen's death,

66
00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,800
cherishing the path to protect the future. That's you. You

67
00:04:16,879 --> 00:04:18,120
might as well put it on a T shirt and

68
00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,079
wear it. Why is trans such a place of out

69
00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:26,319
of control violence? Okay, you decided to do seven episodes.

70
00:04:26,439 --> 00:04:28,639
There's got to be more than this. What didn't we

71
00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:34,600
get to hear? You're proving that podcasting is a true activation.

72
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:39,279
So many people are dying. Why is this? And what

73
00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,839
can we do as a community to come together as

74
00:04:42,959 --> 00:04:47,399
one force? To go to Riker's Island? Did you go

75
00:04:47,519 --> 00:04:51,279
inside this place? The sound bites that you feature on

76
00:04:51,319 --> 00:04:56,199
the podcast, they are absolutely priceless. Will you ever put

77
00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:00,759
pictures to them and put it up on Hulu or Netflix? Well,

78
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:05,720
there you go. That's this week's missed opportunity with Roquail Willis.

79
00:05:06,399 --> 00:05:09,480
Missed opportunity is a lost piece of history. You now

80
00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,399
know the questions, so let's locate the answers. The door

81
00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:16,439
is always going to be open. If you are or

82
00:05:16,560 --> 00:05:19,800
no Roquel Willis, please reach out to me at erroc

83
00:05:19,959 --> 00:05:22,199
at gmail dot com. That's a R R O E

84
00:05:22,399 --> 00:05:26,399
C at gmail dot com and it's always be brilliant